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A
fourree is a coin, most often a counterfeit, struck with a base metal
core that has been plated with a precious metal to look like its
official solid metal counterpart. The term, derived from a French word
meaning "stuffed,‟ is most applied to ancient silver plated coins such
as Roman denarii and Greek drachms, but may be used to describe any
plated coin.

The
most obvious way to detect a fouree is a plating break exposing the
base metal core. Often, however, plating breaks are not immediately
obvious and the first indicator that a coin is a counterfeit is unofficial
style. The style of the Maximinus I Thrax denarius above is very
different from that of an official Roman mint denarius. On this coin the
copper core is clearly visible. Not all ancient counterfeits are
fourree but coins with odd style should be closely examined under
magnification to search for plating breaks and signs of a base metal
core.

Copper
and bronze are lighter (lower density) than silver and gold. Some counterfeiters were clever enough to make the flan slightly larger to achieve the correct weight, but fourrees
are most often underweight. Although the style of the Athens new
styletetradrachm above is quite good, on par with the official Athens
mint, it weighs only 14.463g. That is more than two grams below the
normal weight for the type. Plating breaks are clearly visible on both
sides. Underweight silver, gold and electrum coins should be closely
examined to determine if they are plated.

As
soon as there were coins, there were forgers, counterfeits and fourree.
The coin above is an ancient fourree electrumplated counterfeit 1/24
stater from Ionia, c. 650 - 600 B.C. This type was the very earliest
form of coinage; a type-less (blank) electrum globule, weighed to a
specific standard, with a simple square punch mark on one side. Signs of
a base core are visible under a microscope. This coin was very closely
examined, and the base core discovered, because it is underweight.

Ancient
coins were often chiseled or "test cut" to ensure they were not plated.
In Athens this testing became official policy. "To deal with
[counterfeits], the Athenians passed a law in 375/4 B.C. which provided
for a dokimastes or 'tester' to sit near the banking tables in the Agora
and in the market of Peiraieus. The judgment of this official as to the
authenticity of any disputed piece was final. Any owl which was of
silver and correct weight, whether it was struck in Athens or at a
foreign mint, had to be accepted in commerce. Counterfeit pieces, on the
other hand, were slashed by the dokimastes, withdrawn from circulation
and dedicated to the Mother of the Gods. Such counterfeit owls have, in
fact, been found near the Metroon, sanctuary of the Mother of the Gods."
-- Greek and Roman Coins in the Athenian Agora, American School of Classical Studies at Athens (Princeton, NJ), 1975.

Silver
fourrees are much more common than gold and electrumfourrees,
presumably because genuine silver coins are much more common, but also
because the value of gold coins was so high that they were not be used for
ordinary daily transactions, and they were probably carefully examined
each time they were used. Still, some ancient criminal counterfeiters
could not resist the temptation, as proven by the Alexander the Greatstater above.

Many
fourrees seem to have been made by wrapping a blank base metal (usually
copper or bronze) flan in two pieces of thin silver foil before
striking. One piece of foil was applied on each side and folded over the
other side, with the two pieces overlapping around the edge. The Mark
Antony legionary denariusfouree above has lost one of the pieces of
foil, clearly indicating the technique.

The
edges of the foil were usually completely eradicated by the strike, but
they are sometimes visible. On the Alexander the Greattetradrachm
above, the edges of the foil are visible on the obverse. A number of
folded flaps extend almost to the center of the coin.This coin may have
been plated with a single piece of foil, rather than two pieces of
foil. Most likely the foil edges were less visible when these
counterfeits were new. It is also possible to see some foil edges on the
gold fourree above. (Did you notice them before?)

Even
if a fourree retains its complete silver plate and the foil edges are
not visible, it is often possible to detect the plating. The coin above
is an extreme example with many raised bumps on the surfaces, resulting
from expanding corrosion of the bronze core. On the Alexander the Greattetradrachm above, the lower right on the reverse is raised due to
underlying corrosion. (Did you notice it before? Or, are you learning!)

It
is often claimed that some fourree were issued by official mints or in
official mints after hours by moonlighting mint workers. While this may
have happened, it was certainly extremely rare. Mints were were
undoubtedly highly guarded and controlled in ancient times, as they
still are today. There is, however, one well known verified plated issue
by an official mint. Near the end of the Peloponnesian War against
Sparta, 406 - 404 B.C., Athens issued silver plated bronze tetradrachms.
The coin above is a rare example of this money of necessity or siege
coinage, an official fourree. The vast majority of plated Athens
tetradrachms are ordinary counterfeits, not from the siege issue. A
match to the known official dies used for the issue is necessary for
attribution as an official Athens mint plated siege coin. Nearly all
fourree are unofficial counterfeits that were struck at illegal criminal
mints.

Fourree
counterfeits were a significant problem for the Roman Republic. Some
denarii were struck with notched (serrated) flans. Perhaps it was just
as a fashion, but more likely the extra effort was intended to prevent
plated counterfeits. If the purpose was to prevent counterfeiting, the
plated T. Vettius Sabinus denariusserratus above shows it was not
entirely successful.

Ancient
counterfeits often have mismatched obverses and reverses. Some counterfeiter's transfer dies
were made using a process that destroyed the genuine coin to impressed to make each die. Since making one die destroyed the coin, the same coin could not be
used to make both the obverse and reverse dies. The destroyed coins were undoubtedly melted to
contribute to the silver foil plate. Hybrids, coins with mismatched
obverse and reverse types, should be examined for plating. The coin
above combines an obverse die of Constantius II, 337 - 361, with a
reverse die of Julian II, 360 - 363 A.D. The unlikely hybrid of types
from different emperors and issues, the light weight, and the flan flaw
on the reverse indicate it is a plated ancient counterfeit. Unlike
counterfeit denarii, counterfeit siliqua are very rare. Siliqua are so
thin, that striking counterfeits with a bronze core apparently did not
provide most potential counterfeiters an economic benefit worth the
effort and risk.